Chapter 656: The Promise He Refused to Break
Orion didn’t respond imdiately, but he didn’t hesitate either.
He pulled her into his arms again, firm and certain, like there was no space for distance between them after that.
"You have ," he said quietly.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it held in a way that didn’t waver.
Sophia’s breath caught against his chest as her fingers tightened around him.
"And not just ," he continued, his hand moving slowly along her back, steady, grounding. "Ronan, Brynhild, Lysander, Tobias... Sam and Annabeth too."
She shook her head faintly, her voice unsteady.
"They don’t know everything..."
"They know you, though," Orion said, his tone calm but firm. "That’s what matters, and they know who Victoria is... they know who your mother is."
Her grip tightened.
"And besides, shorty, they’ve seen you," he added. "They’ve stood with you, and I don’t think they are going anywhere."
Sophia’s breathing faltered again.
"And I’m not going to let you lose anyone," he said more quietly, his hold tightening just slightly. "Not again. Not because of her."
At that, the tears ca again, softer this ti but no less heavy, her face pressing into his chest as she held onto him like she needed him to stay exactly where he was.
Orion held her without moving away, his hand continuing its slow, steady motion along her back as he felt every tremor in her body, every uneven breath she tried to steady.
And he hated it.
He hated that she had gone through all of that alone, hated that the person who was ant to protect her had been the one who broke her, hated that even now she carried it like it was hers to bear.
For a mont, his thoughts turned, sharp and dangerous, settling on one na.
Victoria.
His jaw tightened as the thought ca with it, the urge rising fast enough that it almost caught him off guard.
He could leave.
He could find her and end it all. End Victoria.
And he wouldn’t do it quickly or rcifully, because she didn’t deserve it. He would do it in a way that would make her understand every bit of what she had done to Sophia.
His hand paused for the briefest second against Sophia’s back before he forced it to move again, steady, controlled.
But this wasn’t the right ti.
Because Sophia was in his arms, breaking in ways he hadn’t seen before, and she mattered more than anything else.
She was his first priority.
Not vengeance.
Not anger, even though it was almost to the point of consuming him.
Sophia was his priority.
He held her close as she cried, not rushing her or pulling away, but instead letting the weight of everything she had been holding finally co out the way it needed to.
Ti passed without either of them noticing.
Her sobs didn’t stop all at once, but they softened slowly, turning into uneven breaths and quiet sniffles as the tension in her body eased little by little.
Orion didn’t let go.
Not until he felt the way her grip loosened just slightly, not from distance but from exhaustion.
Only then did he shift, just enough to press a soft kiss to the top of her head, lingering there for a mont.
Sophia didn’t move away.
Instead, she shifted closer.
Carefully, almost instinctively, she moved into his lap, her arms wrapping around him again as if she needed to feel him closer than before.
Orion didn’t question it; he just let her.
His arms ca around her imdiately, holding her just as firmly, just as securely, like there was no version of this where he would ever push her away.
Because he wouldn’t.
She was his, and yes, he was hers, from when they had t as children. And he would stand by her even if it drowned him.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then, very quietly, almost like the words had to be carefully pushed out, Sophia spoke.
"I love you."
Orion stilled.
His hands paused slightly against her back as the words settled into him, unexpected but not unwelco, coming at a mont where everything already felt too heavy and too real.
For a second, he said nothing.
Then a soft breath left him, sothing lighter than before, sothing steadier.
"I love you too," he said.
Sophia shifted slightly in his arms, just enough to look at him, her eyes still wet but softer now, fragile in a different way.
"...don’t leave ," she said.
Orion lifted his hands, gently brushing the strands of hair away from her face, his fingers lingering for a mont as he made sure she was looking at him.
"I’m not leaving you," he said.
There was no hesitation in it.
"And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure I never do."
Sophia swallowed, searching his face like she was trying to find sothing that would contradict his words.
There was nothing there.
So she nodded.
Slowly.
Like she was choosing to believe him.
Orion didn’t give her ti to doubt it.
He leaned in, slow enough for her to pull away if she wanted to, but she didn’t.
Instead, she t him halfway, her lips pressing against his in a kiss that wasn’t rushed, wasn’t desperate, but soft and steady, filled with everything they hadn’t said out loud.
Promises to each other, promises they both understood, though unspoken.
Sophia leaned into him as she kissed him, her arms still wrapped around him, holding on in a way that felt less like fear and more like certainty now.
And Orion held her there, one hand steady against her back, the other resting at her side as he deepened the kiss just slightly, just enough to feel her respond.
It wasn’t about urgency.
It wasn’t about need.
It was about staying.
About not letting go.
And even then, even as she tried to stay in that mont, a tear slipped free, quiet and soft against her skin as she kissed him.
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